In academia, the event of having a child is associated with lower research productivity for women, leading many universities and research organizations to implement flexible working arrangements designed to support faculty balance their work and family responsibilities. However, these policies have done little to ameliorate the increased harm to women’s academic careers, according to a new global study led by Gemma Elizabeth Derrick, professor in the School of Education at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
Earlier quantitative research from the study’s authors found men typically interpret flexibility policies to justify stepping back from lead parenting roles, whereas women typically use the same workplace flexibility to justify stepping forward toward greater parenting responsibilities. To investigate these interpretations further, the authors conducted a qualitative global survey of 10,445 academic parents regarding their individualized rationales on parenting and workplace responsibilities.
According to the authors’ analysis, the potential of creating an egalitarian workplace through family-friendly policies is often hampered by gendered stereotypes at home and in the academic workplace. Survey responses from male participants revealed that when men attempt to take on more family responsibilities, they are often met with belittling comments and workplace repercussions. On the other hand, women reported feeling constrained by expectations that mothers need to sacrifice everything for the benefit of their families and the success of others.
“In both scenarios, unacknowledged gendered cultural logics disadvantage the primary caregiving parent, overwhelmingly mothers, from participating fully in the academic workforce,” the authors write. “These findings connect individual parenting rationalizations with institutional [higher education] policies, making clear that if academia wants to support the success of all its workers, it must do more to make workplace choices truly open to all.”
In addition to Dr. Derrick, the research team included authors from the University of Bristol in England, the University of Louisville in Kentucky, Indiana University Bloomington, the Université de Montréal in Canada, Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.